In a list published by Forbes magazine in combination with Master Card, Bangkok was rated the third most popular city in the world to visit, beaten only by London and Paris.
According to the magazine, Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn) on the Chao Phraya River is among the world’s most famous sights and, for visitors, is the symbol of the city. It said the temple attracted around 12.2 million travellers last year.
Master Card has also named London as the city that received the highest tourist income.
The city is estimated to have welcomed 16.9 million tourists last year, pouring around US$21 billion (B630 billion) into London’s economy.
The magazine ranks Istanbul as the fastest growing destination. It jumped to number five on the list, just behind Singapore, which ranked fourth.
Meanwhile, InternationalLiving.com has placed Thailand ninth in its list of the Best Places for North Americans to retire.
It was, however, beaten by Malaysia, which came in third place, behind Ecuador and Panama.
In Thailand’s favor were such important facets as a warm climate, hospitable culture and low cost of living.
Thailand did not, however, feature in the World’s Best Ethical Destinations 2013, a list compiled by Ethical Traveler magazine.
The magazine ranks countries according to their record on environmental protection, social welfare and human rights. The list names the top 10, but puts them in alphabetical order only. Some of this year’s winners are rather surprising: Argentina, The Bahamas, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, Latvia, Mauritius, Palau, Serbia and Uruguay.
A clue as to why Thailand did not make this list may be gleaned from Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2001-2010, a report by Global Financial Integrity released in December, which placed Thailand 13th in terms of financial crime, corruption and tax evasion. China came top for its larger than life achievements in these spheres.